Hannah Thomas-Peter

New York Correspondent

The FBI sting operation against Quazi Mohammad Nafis reads like something out of a James Bond plot, but it is not uncommon for the federal police to trap suspected terrorists in this way.

Just eight months ago a man of Moroccan descent was arrested on his way to the US Capitol in Washington DC.

He thought he was going on a suicide attack and the undercover FBI agents assisting him were al Qaeda associates.

In November 2011, the NYPD carried out a similar sting on 27-year-old Jose Pimentel.

The police said he was an al Qaeda sympathiser inspired by the radical and now dead US-born cleric Anwar al Awlaki.

Image Caption:Terror suspect Jose Pimentel in court

Pimentel thought he was wrapped up in a secret plot to bomb police and post office targets.

And in December 2010, a man from Baltimore was trapped in another fake scheme - this time to detonate a car bomb at a US armed forces recruitment centre in Maryland.

The FBI is constantly monitoring people of interest and people they believe to pose a real threat to the US.

Sting operations are always very carefully controlled, and in New York, usually also involve NYPD counter-terror specialists.

One of the reasons for using stings is that large amounts of evidence can be collected by the agents involved, allowing for a higher chance of successful prosecution if the case gets to trial.

In this city such operations are almost always overseen by what is known as the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, or JTTF.

Image Caption:New York's Brooklyn Bridge was the subject of at least one plot

The NY JTTF is an FBI-led umbrella group encompassing more than 50 different agencies and 500 investigators.

It is a busy place to work.

Since 9/11 there have been 15 foiled plots against New York, including ones targeting the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York Stock Exchange.

To combat the ongoing threat of an attack, and in part to make the public feel safe as they move around Manhattan, over 1,000 NYPD officers are assigned specifically to counter-terror duties every day.

Following the Nafis operation, NYPD Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said: "Al Qaeda operatives and those they have inspired have tried time and again to make New York City their killing field.

"After 11 years without a successful attack, it's understandable if the public becomes complacent, but that's a luxury law enforcement can't afford."